The present invention is directed to a truck locking device and more specifically to a mechanically or pneumatically operated locking device for automatically engaging the standard ICC bar on the rear of a truck to lock the truck in a fixed position relative to a loading dock or the like.
At all loading docks there is an imminent danger of trucks leaving the loading dock while a loading or unloading operation is still in progress. This presents a very real danger for personnel operating lift trucks for transporting cargo into or out of the truck since the unannounced departure of a truck from the loading dock could cause the lift truck to fall from the loading dock or the back of the truck. A similar problem exists with respect to trailers which are parked at a loading dock without a tractor. The shocks and vibrations transmitted to a trailer during the loading and unloading operations can cause the trailer to drift away from the dock or even cause the landing gear to collapse and drop the trailer forward in the driveway away from the loading dock.
Such accidents occur fairly frequently and various attempts have been made to secure a truck to a loading dock during loading and unloading operations and/or provide a system of signal lights to alert dock personnel as well as drivers as to the status of the loading or unloading operation. The most common method of preventing such accidents is to manually place rubber or metal wheel chocks in front of the truck wheels when the truck is parked at the loading platform. While this is fairly effective, it is entirely dependent upon having a person perform this function and as a result, it is estimated that only 25 percent of the trucks are actually chocked.
Other arrangements for securing a truck to a loading dock involve the use of a hook adapted to engage some portion of the truck with the hook being operatively connected to a suitable retaining means on the loading dock. Once again, these various arrangements all require the assistance of an operator to engage the hook and take up any slack in the retaining means. As a result, trucks are often not secured to the loading dock.